Monero Malware Response Workgroup To Stop Cryptojacking

In the last years, new methods to steal virtual currencies appeared in the market. One of the most famous is known as cryptojacking. Individuals from all over the world can be a victim of these attacks. Using a simple javascript that is injected into websites and computers hackers can drain CPU power from users and mine Monero (XMR) coins with all the energy they stole.

Fortunately, there is a group that is working in order to stop that. On September 26, the famous Monero contributor Justin Ehrenhofer announced on Twitter that it has launched the Monero Malware Response Workgroup.

There are different companies and foundations from all over the world that allow users to mine virtual currencies as a donation. This shows that Monero can also be used for philanthropic causes.

Monero and its community have always been discouraging malicious parties to perform these activities, but the situation does not improve.

The Monero Malware Workgroup has been created by a set of volunteers that want to help users with zero knowledge on cryptocurrencies to learn about the space and how these virtual currencies work. At the same time, they want to inform, report and protect users that want to fight against XMR malicious mining activities. Monero explains that they will not be able to eliminate malicious mining but they want to educate people to understand Monero, mining an dhow to remove malware.

Ehrenhofer has decided to speak with the community and give some clues about how to fight against this malware.

If users are infected with ransomware, they need to look online and see if other users have reported the same malware. Users will have to understand or figure out if the attackers encrypted the computer or did something similar. However, it is not an easy task and if the user does not have technical capabilities it would be much more difficult.

Ehrenhofer says that he does not recommend users to pay the ransom. If the victim pays the ransom, there is a future financial incentive to attack other computers. Moreover, the attacker could not even decrypt the files.

Users that experience a ransomware should reinstall their computers. This is something that would create a lot of damage to the victim, but there is no other way to solve the issue.

The last two things he says is that if users have a backup, you can recover the files that they were able to save. Once the user instals again the system, they should create a backup system that would allow them to restore their files if the computer is infected again.

The current workgroups are currently focused on helping individuals that have no idea about what Monero is and how to solve issues with ransomware. Nonetheless, the group does not have anything that could apply to state-wide ransomware attacks.

He explained that Monero attacks are the most common because the cryptocurrency is private and it is not possible to track them. At the same time, Monero uses a Proof of Work (PoW) algorithm that is CPU and GPU friendly, something that allows infected machines to be competitive.

According to him, the initiative was recommended by Riccardo Spagni in order to manage some of the reports made by the community related to Monero being used as a malicious cryptocurrency. It is not possible to stop these attacks, but it is possible to help in the best possible way those affected.

He then talked about how Monero mining could help small and large media companies increase their revenue and reduce the commercial ads that they have on their sites.

About it, he mentioned.

“It depends on the conditions of the network and the nature of the website, but it holds some promise, especially for websites where the user is on the page for a while. I do not expect it to fully replace advertising, but it could function as an additional revenue stream if users are aware of what is happening.”

Monero is a great cryptocurrency that is known for its privacy features and how it can help individuals and companies have an increased level of privacy. The community is now working against actors that exploit Monero in a negative way and harm the entire crypto community.